ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

Boston Musician, Bert Switzer, Releases CD
Compilation of Music from Last 25 Years

Bert Switzer, a Boston-area drummer who recorded his first record and performed his first live gig with renowned avant garde guitarist Henry Kaiser, has released a compilation CD of "my best musical performances with all the musicians and bands I have played with over the last 25 years.

Switzer began playing drums in 1967. Ten years later, he joined one of the earliest and wildest punk bands, The Destroyed, who, after being spotted by frontman Peter Wolf during a performance at the now-defunct Rathskellar, opened for the J. Geils Band in a performance in Maine.

The bulk of the CD is devoted to music from the heydays of The Destroyed (thedestroyed.com). It also contains a couple songs he recorded with Kaiser as Monster Island, as well as some previously unreleased material. More information about Switzer's career and his CD is available at bertswitzer.com.

Switzer stopped playing the drums in 1993 and didn't pick up his drumsticks again until December, 2001. "It was unfinished business for me," Switzer says. "Musically, there were things I hadn't done that I just had to do. I feel I still have something to offer."

As part of his comeback, Switzer worked with Bill T Miller on two new songs, one is pure drums and the other has Miller on guitar and bass. Switzer has also begun working on new songs with Joe D. Jackson, who was lead singer of The Destroyed.

"I love working with songwriters and helping them develop their songs. They bring out the creative aspect of my drumming. It's where I excel. The only reason I play at all is to express that creativity, says Switzer, who has no plans to retire from music. "I'm back for good," he says.

check out: bertswitzer.com.

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BERT - IN HIS OWN WORDS.....

I was born on December 27, 1948. I first became interested in playing music after hearing The Who's first album in late 1965. Pete Townsend and Keith Moon became my boyhood idols. My interest peaked when I saw Boston legends The Remains peform in August of 1966. Later a local band I met asked me if I would play drums for them. So in May of 1967, I bought my first set of drums, and started playing them. After five rehearsals, I left the band after they asked me to play a show. I just didn't feel ready. I was then was offered a job as a road manager with a successful local rock band who played a show with The Doors in New Hampshire. I made friends with Jim Morrison before the show and spent the afternoon with him.

I continued drumming throughout the 60s, and in 1969 I met folk singer Loudon Wainwright III who became an important influence. Loudon was best man at my wedding, and after the wedding he helped us celebrate by singing songs to us the whole afternoon. Loudie even wrote a poem just for us. He went on to record the hit song Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road in the 70s and continues to release tons of albums.

In mid-1971 I quit playing drums. I went back to playing in late 1974. A few years later, I met an amazing guitar player named Henry Kaiser. My first public performance with him was at Harvard University in May of 1977. Later that year we recorded our first record as Monster Island. Henry went on to fame playing with musicians such as Jerry Garcia, Greg Allman, David Lindley, and many others.

In July of 1977, I joined local punk rockers, The Destroyed. Tony (the guitar player) still likes to tell the story of how he discovered me at the Cambridge Music Complex that year. He heard me rehearsing and said that he had to find out who was making this thunderous noise. He said that the walls were shaking from the sheer volume, so he opened the door and asked me to join The Destroyed. The Destroyed was one of Boston's wildest punk bands during the 70s.

The highlight of The Destroyed's existence came when we played with the J. Geils Band in front of 12,000 people. Peter Wolf saw us at The Rat and invited us to open for them. The highlight of that show for me came afterward when two pretty young women came to our dressing room and asked me for a pair of my drum sticks. The Destroyed broke up in August of 1979. I have never played with another actual band since.

During the 80s, I rehearsed alone and occasionally jammed with others. Included is one such jam, recorded on my old boom box in the basement of my Medford Street apartment in 1985. This jam features 13-year-old Somerville guitarist Bobby Powers, in a performance of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."

I quit playing again in 1993, and recently picked up my drum sticks in December of 2001. I put my CD together in 2002 as part of my comeback. I wanted to include songs from the various bands I had played in over the years. In addition, I included two brand new songs which were recorded by Bill T Miller. He plays bass and guitar on one of the new songs (Outside Reality). The other new song (Out of the Straight Jacket) is just pure drums.

I don't consider myself only a drummer. In fact I consider myself to be mainly a musician. My influences are varied. In addition to the ones I have already mentioned, I have been influenced by following: Folk singers: Patty Griffin, Catie Curtis, Dar Williams, and Susan Vega. Country artists: Hank Williams and The Davis Sisters. Record Producers: Phil Spector, Shadow Morton, Shel Talmy and Chet Atkins. My favorite singers are Mary Weiss of The Shangri-Las, Del Shannon, Dionnne Warwick and her sister Dee Dee. I would also cite the songwriters Goffin and King, Mann and Weil, and Barry and Greenwich, as being favorites.

My most exciting musical moment was when I was allowed into Joni Mitchell's dressing room at Club 47 in Harvard Square before she became famous in 1967. Most recently I met Susan Vega at a record store concert in October of 2001. I asked her to sing me a song from her new album, but she said she couldn't sing it then because she didn't know the words as she didn't write the song. She said, "if you come to my concert this evening, I will learn the words and play the song for you." Excited, I went to her concert and after two hours of watching the show, much to my disappointment, she left the stage without playing my request. As the crowd cheered for an encore, suddenly she returned to the stage. She then held up a piece of paper with the words to the song as she started singing. The song I requested was Jack Hardy's beautiful song, St. Clare. That is one moment I will never forget.

This CD is a compilation of my best musical performances with all the musicians and bands I have played with over the last 25 years. Please get in touch with me. I love making and listening to music.
Thanks. - Bert Switzer

Bert Switzer-1977-2002: This is a neat idea for an album. Switzer compiled all the music and early bands he played in, with everything from solo stuff he did to his first band Monster Island, and also his claim to fame, 70s punk rock band The Destroyed. You will even find a jam session with his buddy Bobby Powers recorded in the eighties, with a cover song of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." This is a fun retrospective album to rummage through and remember the early days of punk rock. - by marc&jen PUNKtuation

Bert-mania has swept the nation, and I scarcely think we'll ever be the same.

Bert Switzer - 1977 - 2002

Recorded at various places. Produced by various people.

There seems to be something about largely unknown, extremely loud music that just captures the imagination of the American public. Take for example the recent deification of Bert Switzer, the extremely loud and largely unknown Boston drummer. Before, he was a footnote. Part of Henry Kaiser's annotated bibliography, perhaps. Now, with the release of his new compilation, 1977-2002, he's become a superstar of Neil Diamond proportions. Women burst into his dressing room, begging for autographs and a bit of the nasty. You can scarcely walk down Rodeo Drive without seeing studio executives imitating his carefully maintained coiffure. He's showered with praise by the national sporting press. Bert-mania has swept the nation, and I scarcely think we'll ever be the same. If only it were true. Mr. Switzer is certainly deserving of such adulation. He's cobbled together an enviable body of work and this compilation represents an excellent cross-section of it. Therein one will find, most notably, the work of a young Henry Kaiser, whose excellent playing suggests shades of Crazy Backwards Alphabets to come. Second in line are the Destroyed, the great unknown Boston uberpunk band, whose sound can, perhaps, be best described as "Mick Jagger fronting the Stooges with a largely unknown Ginger Baker hittin' the skins." Also included are a few choice cuts from some of Switzer's lesser known musical collaborations, all of which shine brightly when set against the more famous fare, especially the Switzer-Powers Freak-Out version or Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." All in all, its extremely loud, compelling stuff, and more than enough to convert the weary denizen of lo-fi English-language rock'n'roll. Give it a spin, dear reader, and you may just find yourself outside Mr. Switzer's dressing room some night, begging for hair-care tips from the Man Himself. Contact: www.bertswitzer.com

A Punkers dream! This recording screams BOSTON PUNK in it's earliest, rawest, most insane form! For those of you who aren't famiiar with Bert Switzer, he is the totaly insane drummer for the long defunct punk band "The Destroyed." They were one of Boston's earliest and wildest punk bands to devasate the local scene. After being spotted by Perter Wolf at a performance at Boston's renowned punk palace "The Rathskeller," The Destroyed were asked to open for the J. Geils Band at a performance in Maine. ---

This CD has a rather "underground", punk feel about it right from the get go: from the recording quality to the vocals to the power, insanity and noise! This just reminded me how mellow and refined is today compared to the Boston punk of old. This is a collection of material from the hey days of Boston Punk along with a few newer numbers showing Bert is as crazy as ever. With tracks like "Outside Reality," Power," "Animal Disease," "The Rebel," "The Killing," "Out Of The Straight Jacket," and many more this, this release is packed with 19 mind shattering ear bleeding punk tunes that will send any true, hard-core punker into ecstasy. It features material with Bert and The Destroyed, Bill T Miller, Henry Kaiser, Joe Rainbow, Bobby Powers and Monster Island. Awesome release, great packaging, and a sure favorite for hard-core, underground punkers and all those who want to be! ------- The alternative News